


Zorro's death

by Rangerfan58



Category: Zorro - All Media Types
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-09
Updated: 2020-10-09
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:49:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26910928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rangerfan58/pseuds/Rangerfan58
Summary: death in the pueblo challenge, full summary inside





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> What you recognize I don't own. As always thoughts are in italic. It's been a year since the incident with Gilberto and DeSoto has changed for the better. He has rescinded the taxes that were solely for the sake of catching Zorro, and the taxes that he either felt were necessary or didn't have the authority to abolish himself he lowered to reasonable levels and gave those that would have a harder time gathering the money time to gather said taxes, though he still imposed a time limit on how long they had to pay the taxes, but he was also more lenient to a degree on late payments. As for Zorro he still rode but without the Alcalde's schemes he mainly helped the soldiers capture bandits who were after either the lowered bounty money (DeSoto unfortunately couldn't rescind the bounty due to legal complications) on Zorro's head or simply because they wanted to cause trouble. But the lancers were now better trained which helped matters and DeSoto worked willingly with Zorro either on training or to help with trouble in the area

DeSoto sighed as he thought back to how he had gotten into his current situation in the first place

_One week earlier_

DeSoto and the lancers were dealing with outlaws who had come to town to cause trouble and were handling themselves quite well when suddenly their leader came holding a white flag which DeSoto knew he was obligated to honor and so he told his men to hold their fire which they did

"Smart move Alcalde, I have something to say to this entire pueblo, I also wonder if a certain Don Alejandro De la Vega is here"

Alejandro speaks up

"I'm here, what business do you have with me?"

"I must tell you that earlier today we met with your son Diego De la Vega and I personally killed him"

Alejandro would have moved forward and started a fight if not for both Victoria and DeSoto stopping him and then DeSoto speaks up

"Then I shall have you arrested for his murder, that is if Zorro doesn't come and stop you first"

"Ah, and that's the bit of news I have for this entire pueblo, before running into Diego De la Vega we ran into the outlaw known as Zorro and killed him, after all he could not survive such a fall and as such we will take that reward along with this pueblo DeSoto"

DeSoto could tell that the men were speaking the truth and as such decided on what was basically a suicidal plan, but one he hoped would buy his people time to ascertain the truth about Zorro _and_ keep the citizens under his protection safe

"Sir, if I surrender myself to you do you promise not to harm the good people of this pueblo?"

"Indeed, let it be known to all that your behavior will dictate how your Alcalde, or if you so choose to call him, Commandante, is treated"

"Thank you, Seargeant Mendoza, as my last act as your commanding officer I order you to put me in jail immediately"

Mendoza obeys the order though DeSoto and many others could tell that he wasn't happy doing so, but before he could be locked in Mendoza leans in and whispers in DeSoto's ear

"Give the word and we ride for the pueblo's sake"

"The word is given Mendoza, do what you can to find Zorro, and...and if need be fight for the pueblo in his stead"

"Understood sir"

With that final private conversation DeSoto was locked up and all conversations public in front of the outlaws now in charge of the pueblo

_Present_

DeSoto was brought out of his musing by the announcement that Victoria was there with his lunch and when he saw it he asked in a very plain and non-demanding voice

"No tamales today?"

"Unfortunately Mendoza and the other soldiers came back from patrol late due to the issues that you're aware of last night, as such I was ordered to only give you soup, but at least it's one you tolerate"

"Albondigas soup, not the best soup available but better than some I've had in the past"

"Indeed, I must go now"

Victoria leaves and DeSoto discovers his daily report underneath the soup bowl and it wasn't good news, Mendoza and the other lancers had discovered evidence confirming both Zorro's and Don Diego's deaths even though there were no bodies to recover and knowing that this message was dangerous DeSoto made sure it was destroyed while eating lunch and when he saw Mendoza he gave the Sergeant the secret signals that had been developed alongside Zorro after his change of heart, but also a couple mixed in that even Zorro was unaware of for security purposes by agreement of both DeSoto and Zorro and Mendoza simply nodded. Three days later Mendoza gave secret orders to certain officers while he and a few others resigned their commission (with the full knowledge that once peace was restored to Los Angeles they would be quickly reinstated since it was a secret plan amongst the soldiers in case something like this actually happened)


	2. Chapter 2

"You know soldier that we will never let you fight against anyone and you will always have to be unarmed while in the pueblo"

"Si, we are aware of it, but we figure now is a good time to leave the military"

"Then I accept your resignations"

And with that Mendoza and the others who left the military were now free to act as they wished in the search for Zorro's and Diego's remains plus there were a few other secret plans being made that would allow the soldiers to more openly protect the citizens without breaking the rules put on them

"So...now what?"

"Now we obey or orders and do what's necessary to protect the people, we ride and fight for Zorro"

"No Mendoza, we don't fight for Zorro, we fight in his name but we ride and fight for the people"

"Agreed, we're going to have to find disguises like Zorro did though"

"True, and we will not use the same disguise as Zorro did, in honor of his memory and for the sake of the people"

And with that the soldiers started making plans but first they realized they needed to discuss what they were going to do about still eating at the tavern on occasion with Victoria since they were currently without an official job

"We will figure something out Mendoza, in the meantime what are you going to do about being jobless?"

"We have ideas about that Senorita don't worry, in the meantime due to the fact that we've been kept at the cuartel lately has there been any more news about Zorro or Don Diego?"

"None"

"I see, we shall go further than before today now that we are free to go wherever we want, and maybe Don Alejandro will give us jobs in the meantime"

Perhaps, and maybe that will allow you guys to eat here like you used to, but in the meantime what are you going to do to help the people?"

"We have plans Senorita, plans that have been in place for a while now"

"Very well I will not completely interfere in those plans, but if I start seeing you going hungry or you start gaining mysterious injuries I _will_ get involved somehow"

"Understood"

And so the group spends the next two days searching for Zorro and Diego once more before heading to the de la Vega hacienda and asking Alejandro about working for him since they were no longer soldiers at the moment, after telling him about their two days of searching with no results of course

"Of course, in fact part of your job for me will, whenever you go further abroad on business, be to figure out if anyone found Diego's body, or someone who matches his description at least"

"Understood Don Alejandro"

"In the meantime though I think you can start off with helping Felipe on the northern part of the ranch, he just set off to herd some horses that have wondered onto our property and have yet to leave"

"Yes sir"

"And Mendoza, Felipe can actually hear, though he is still mute, he revealed that to me not long ago"

"Understood, so just tell him what we need and he'll do it?"

"Yes, though don't be surprised if he falls back on the habit of pretending to still be deaf"

"We understand Don Alejandro"

And with that the group of former soldiers started working for Don Alejandro and learning more about Felipe, plus using a little known hideout to make their next move for the sake of the pueblo

"You know, now that we have everything ready should we start fully enacting the plan?"

"Yes, but we must be careful about doing so, as it is there's a reason I didn't make a disguise for myself"

"Good point, but hey it will allow us to be armed in the pueblo"

"True, and I think I will bring back the Guardian, in underground form of course but that will be _my_ way of fighting more openly"

"Yet still in secret, but hopefully one day it can be known what you've done"

"In the meantime I think we should tell Don Alejandro about our plans tomorrow because that will be when we start enacting them"

"What about the alcalde?"

"Either Don Alejandro or Senorita Escalante can tell the alcalde what is going on, besides that the alcalde knows the plan remember?"

"Good point"

The next day Mendoza went to the tavern early in the day to tell Victoria about how things were going for the men and also warned her that there would be actions taken that could prove dangerous and to warn the alcalde of potential cell mates if things went wrong

"I'll alert him when I bring him breakfast, which today is tamales, the rest of the town is cooperating and the soldiers are coming back on time and not really bringing in any criminals or shooting at them if they come into town"

"Good to hear"

"Mendoza!"

"Hey, they are actually obeying secret orders from the alcalde through me"

"Oh, okay that makes sense and also makes me feel better about the situation"

Suddenly they hear a commotion and Mendoza sees bandits coming into town with guns and if not for his quick actions a boy would have been killed but instead of a boy being killed Mendoza was shot instead in the shoulder

"Mendoza, hold this to your wound"

"But Senorita..."

"I don't care that it's lace, I care that we stem the bleeding until the doctor can get here, I can always get another lace hankerchief if I so choose"

Mendoza was soon looked after by the doctor and told that while it took time his arm would completely heal and then it was time for the afternoon flogging which is when the disguised soldiers would come and managed to stop the flogging but before they left completely one of the disguised soldiers spoke up

"Senor Martinez, be warned that even if Zorro is no longer here others will rise up to take his place to protect the people and you won't know who they are until it's too late"

With that the disguised soldiers were gone and once back at the de la Vega hacienda explained the situation to Alejandro who agreed to rotate the group whenever he started sending them further out on ranch business so that at least one or two of the disguised soldiers could be in Los Angeles at all times

"Thank you Don Alejandro, and don't worry we'll try and find your son while abroad as ordered by you"

"I know"

And so time goes by and soon it's six months since the loss of Zorro and Don Diego and the people of Los Angeles were losing hope of ever being freed from their oppression, yes they and the alcalde were alive but it wasn't a kind of existance that they knew could last. What no one knew was that there was more hope than what they believed there to be besides the disguised soldiers, because what they didn't know was that Zorro, who was more commonly known to the people as Don Diego de la Vega was alive and currently in the care of a native American tribe that had found him half dead and definitely delerious enough to not make any sense. Over time though Diego healed and regained his strength to the point that he was now able to return home after a long absence though he also knew it wouldn't be that easy since while he wasn't sure how long it had been he _was_ sure that the bandits had declared both his identities dead when they arrived to town, and he also knew he had a long walk ahead of him because while the tribe had offered Diego the use of a horse he had declined the offer knowing that it was better in the long run

"I still wish you would take us up on your offer sir"

"It's okay, I think I need the walk plus who knows I might actually find my own horse"

"Safe travels, we will be passing by a town that you can go to for news and transportation if you wish"

"My thanks, for everything you've done for me"

And so Diego briefly goes into the town and discovers that it had been six months since his supposed death and things in Los Angeles weren't good

"Six months, and it will take me at least another month or more to get back home due to the way I have to travel"

Diego manages to barter for his food before leaving on foot stating that he simply didn't have the money to buy a horse


	3. Chapter 3

"Mister...according to some people the horse of Zorro has been seen wandering around these parts lately, though he mainly sticks close to Los Angeles, and it took time to confirm it was the horse of Zorro when first spotted a few months ago, maybe he will settle on a new master"

"Not from what I've heard but it would be nice to see the famous horse"

"Oh, so in your travels you have yet to see that horse?"

"Yes I haven't been down far enough to I guess"

"Guess so, it's not the greatest in Los Angeles and several soldiers quite and now work for Don Alejandro who keeps looking for his son's remains, two of the former soldiers were here about two weeks ago and we had no information for them"

"I see..." (thinks) " _guess I'm going to have to figure something out to find out the full story behind what is happening back home_ "

With that Diego leaves to head home and hopes to run across Toronado at the same time and fortunately does, and naturally the horse recognizes him

"Recognize your old master huh?...well boy shall we ride for freedom once more?"

With Toronado the ride home was much faster but Diego still put on a disguise for both himself and the horse for safety reasons as they reached Los Angeles. And his disguise held up the day he reunited with Victoria, and when a public flogging was to take place he had to control himself to keep from riding off to become Zorro once more and he saw that the soldiers who had left had things well in hand and he also realized that the soldiers that had remained must have done so on DeSoto's orders because of how _they_ were acting throughout the entire process

"Those people who stopped the flogging..."

"They just showed up one day saying that while they were not Zorro they were taking up his banner, but it hasn't been easy for them or the pueblo"

"What about the alcalde?"

"He's alive, a prisoner in his own cell to keep the pueblo under control to a degree, but he's still alive, in fact I have to go and give him lunch soon"

"I see, listen if possible can you give him this?"

Diego hands over a necklace that he had taken to wearing after he had first reached civilization after his long recuperation amongst the Native American tribe that had rescued him, and the necklace had been made by the tribe but it hadn't been a necklace at the time, it was simply a piece of wood that they had handed him which was carved with their guardian animal on it on one side, but on the other side during the ride back home Diego had carved a Z into it as his symbol, and this was going to be his way of letting DeSoto know that he was alive, at least that was his hope anyways since he knew there was a chance DeSoto wouldn't believe his eyes after being gone for so long

"What's this?"

"It's...it's a gift from some people who helped me one time, they believe in an animal spirit that protects the person who has that symbol with them somehow and I think that your alcalde could use it's protection"

"I'll do my best to pass it on but..."

"You might not be able to, I understand"

Ultimately Victoria was able to give DeSoto the necklace and things were calm that day in the pueblo but Diego knew that he would have to act soon in order to return before things started to truly get out of hand because he could tell that the bandits were starting to lose patience with the town being obedient, and the soldiers weren't doing much better either, though being under orders was helping to a degree he could see. And he quickly found out that DeSoto got the hidden message because the next few days were spent hearing rumors about his other identity and news of a flogging coming up gave him the perfect opportunity to reveal himself

"Senorita, how often is flogging?"

"Often enough that the people who have taken up Zorro's cause have to be getting exhausted, they're for sure getting injured even if they hide those injuries much like Zorro did if he was ever injured"

"I see...I must go for now I'm afraid but hopefully we see each other again soon"

"Same here, you...you remind me of a friend I lost several months ago"

"I'm sorry if that is painful for you"

"No...it's not that bad actually"

"Well in any case I must be going"

"Right"

Diego leaves and succeeds in actually getting back to his cave undiscovered, and then he realizes that there's a problem, no Zorro outfit _and_ the place looked looked Felipe still cleaned it regularly and he wasn't exactly ready to reveal himself as being alive for sure until he came to the pueblo as Zorro

"Well this is going to complicate things, but I guess I still have time to figure something out"

Diego eventually creates a disguise as similar to his old one as possible and then goes back to the pueblo and waits for dark and the time that the flogging was supposed to happen because while he _could_ and in the past _had_ acted during daytime for this plan it was best to be done at night

"Now all I can do is wait"

And so Diego waits for several hours but finally the time of the flogging was here and he got into position and then realized just how big of a trap it truly was because the flogging victim hadn't been announced that day so no one had known that the person being flogged was the alcalde, and the only reason he didn't reveal himself early was the years of self control it took to be Zorro in the first place

"Good people of Los Angeles I'm sure you're wondering why your good alcalde is being flogged today when you're sure you've been obeying our rules for his safety, unfortunately that is not entirely the case, _some of you_ have been getting behind on taxes lately and there was a public protest recently as well, and as such we've decided to remind you what happens when you break the rules"

But before the flogging could begin in earnest the disguised soldiers came to their commandante's rescue and began fighting in earnest, but they were soon overwhelmed by sheer numbers, and that's when their surprise help stepped in to join them. One of the disguised soldiers was about to get hit with a bullet by the leader of the group that had taken over the town when suddenly he lost his weapon, and when he looked to see who had taken it and how he froze in shock, as did everyone else who had noticed the weapon being taken away (though that was in part due to the fact that the shot had gone wild due to the actions of the person who had taken the weapon away)

" _You_ "

The person who looked like Zorro, had used his whip like Zorro and walked liked Zorro, also then talked like Zorro

"Yes, me, you didn't actually succeed in killing me that day though I will admit you came close, fortunately though I managed to survive though it took time, too much time I think, to heal from my injuries and regain my strength"

DeSoto was the first person to actually whisper his name at hearing that voice again after so long

"Zorro...so it really was you who gave the pendant to Escalante who then gave it to me"

"Yes alcalde, I did that as a means of letting people know I was alive, a means of giving you some hope once more"

"I see"

"In any case, lancers, shall we?"

"We shall senor Zorro"

And with that Zorro, the disguised lancers, and the lancers who had been obeying orders to obey the bandits to protect the rest of the pueblo started to truly fight back with Zorro making liberal use of both his sword and his whip and finally after six months the pueblo was free once more and then DeSoto spoke up

"Zorro, while I understand some of what you said I want to know further details about these past six and a half months or so that you've been gone"

"I know alcalde I shall write up a report for you later, in the meantime is Don Alejandro de la Vega here?"

Alejandro speaks up

"Yes Zorro I am here"

"I know you won't believe me, but your son Don Deigo is also alive, but we both felt it best that he wait at a secret hiding place until I told him the people who tried to kill him were gone from the pueblo"

"He's...he's alive? Zorro are you sure of this?"

"Positive senor"

"Then I look forward to seeing him coming through the front door soon"

"I promise senor within two hours your son will be home"

And with that Zorro left swiftly and after getting to his secret (temporary) base he changed back into Diego and headed for home and made it just under the time limit he had set for himself

"Father?"

Alejandro came out and enthusiastically hugged his son

"Diego!, it is so good to see you, Zorro said that you were alive but..."

"You needed proof didn't you?"

"Yes, I've missed you so much Diego"

"And I you, where's Felipe?, does he know about me?"

"No, he doesn't know about you since unfortunately he's been out of town these past three days, I think it best that you hide when he returns tonight while I tell him first about Zorro and then about you"

"Understood"

Naturally Felipe didn't believe Alejandro when he was told about Zorro and Diego being alive but Diego showing up when called was all that was needed to finally get through to the young teenager that it truly was Diego and that Diego was alive, and that naturally meant that Zorro was alive. The years would pass and eventually Diego retired from being Zorro and would pass peacefully in his sleep at a respectable age, seeing California become part of Mexico first and later the US, but his legend was passed down through the generations


End file.
